LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 30: Blake Lizotte #46 of the Los Angeles Kings and Jason Dickinson #18 of the Vancouver Canucks battle for the puck during the first period at Crypto.com Arena on December 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

8. San Jose Sharks (19-37-14)

Last week: 8

Overtime losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Seattle Kraken followed by a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders extended San Jose’s winless streak to six games.

2021 seventh-overall pick William Eklund scored the first two goals of his NHL career in consecutive games against Columbus and Seattle last week.

This week: @ EDM, @ VAN, @ CGY

7. Anaheim Ducks (23-37-10)

Last week: 7

The Ducks dropped two of three games last week, losing 6-3 to the Islanders and 2-1 to the Vancouver Canucks, with their lone win being a 7-4 victory over the Blue Jackets.

Trevor Zegras added to his highlight reel with this beautiful assist on a Kevin Shattenkirk goal in the loss to the Islanders.

Zegras leads the Ducks with 58 points on the season (22 G, 36 A).

This week: VS CGY, VS WPG, VS STL

6. Vancouver Canucks (31-33-5)

Last week: 6

The Canucks continued their recent hot stretch with a 3-1-0 week, picking up wins over two of the top teams in the Western Conference in the Dallas Stars and LA Kings while also beating the Ducks.

Elias Pettersson set a new career-high with his 33rd goal of the season in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Anaheim.

This week: VS VGK, VS SJ, @ DAL, @ CHI

5. Calgary Flames (31-24-15)

Last week: 5

The 2022-23 Flames could be the worst to ever do it in overtime and shootouts. They added two more OT/SO losses to their total last week with overtime defeats to the Arizona Coyotes and the Stars. They’re just three away from the single-season NHL record of 18 overtime/shootout losses.

They did crush the Vegas Golden Knights 7-2, though, and ultimately picked up four of six points to remain in the playoff hunt.

Tyler Toffoli is quietly putting together a career year in Calgary. His 61 points through 70 games are already a new career high and his 28 goals are just three shy of his career-high 31 from the 2015-16 season. He beat old teammate Jonathan Quick twice in the win over Vegas.

This week: @ LA, @ ANA, VS VGK, VS SJ

4. Seattle Kraken (38-24-7)

This week: 4

The Kraken picked up a 2-1 overtime win over the Sharks but lost their other two games in regulation to the Stars and Edmonton Oilers.

Vince Dunn has put together a big offensive year on Seattle’s blue line. He has 57 points in 69 games and set a new career high with his 13th goal of the season with the OT winner against San Jose.

This week: @ DAL, @ NSH, @ NSH

3. Edmonton Oilers (39-23-8)

Last week: 3

The Oilers might be getting hot. They won all three games they played last week and have taken five of their last six.

Coming into the night with just two points over his previous six games, Evander Kane broke out of the slump with a hat trick in Saturday’s 6-4 win over the Kraken.

This week: VS SJ, VS ARI, VS VGK

2. LA Kings (40-20-10)

Last week: 2

At one point in the third period on Saturday the LA Kings were out shooting the Canucks 34-6, and in very Kings fashion, they lost that game 3-2 in a shootout. They just haven’t been able to beat Vancouver over the last couple of seasons for some reason. They won games over the Blue Jackets and Islanders earlier in the week, though, and are 7-0-2 over their last nine games.

After a hot start to the year, it’s been a bit of a rocky season for Trevor Moore, who’s dealt with injuries and seen his production fall off. However, he snapped an 18-game goal drought in the win over the Islanders, finding the back of the net for the first time since December 1.

This week: VS CGY, VS WPG, VS STL

1. Vegas Golden Knights (43-21-6)

Last week: 1

The Golden Knights bounced back from the 7-2 loss to the Flames with a 7-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Sunday. They also beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 earlier in the week and that loss to Calgary stands as their only defeat in their last six games.

Pavel Dorofeyev is emerging as a late-season contributor for Vegas. He’s scored in three of the last four games and has five points in seven games since being called up.

This week: @ VAN, @ CGY, @ EDM

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